BOPDHB History Tauranga Hospital Centennial Book | Page 39

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X-ray and Imaging

In 1914 doctors were unable to see
inside the body. Today, Tauranga
Hospital’s Radiology Department has
equipment that enables doctors to
see inside the body through the use
of x-rays, ultrasounds, MRI and CT
scans. They can immediately see what
is wrong or broken and start treatment
quickly, saving lives.
Dr Roy Buchanan, Head of Radiology
Department
Dr Roy Buchanan started at the current Radiology
Department when it was still relatively new in 1986.
“At that time we didn’t have a CT scanner so we
could only take x-rays or an ultrasound and then
evaluate patients clinically. We would decide what was
happening based on our results, clinical findings and
laboratory tests,” says Roy.
“If a patient came in with a brain tumour, acute bleeding
in the brain or trauma we wouldn’t have always been
able to diagnose the underlying problem.”
“A skull x-ray would be taken and a fracture may have
been identified. Calcium might have been visible on
the x-ray and we could say, ‘that’s in the position where
I’d expect it’, or, ‘it’s moved’. That’s basically as far as
you could go with the skull x-ray. Whereas now with a
CT scan we can see inside the brain. We can identify
the location of a haemorrhage or any mass that might
be there. This has resulted in a huge difference in the
management of the patient,” says Roy.
“When CT scanning first started, the initial scanners were
very slow and the image quality was poor. Now we can
scan a patient from head to foot basically in seconds.
It’s very fast and the images start coming up as soon as
you start scanning. We can have something like 2000
images produced from a CT scan within 30 seconds.”
“Within seconds of the patient having an x-ray or scan
we can see the diseased organ using computerised
imaging (PACS), and at a click of a button it can be
viewed from multiple angles on a computer screen by
any doctor within the Midland Region,” says Roy.

“Before CT scans, a person with a head injury would be monitored
in hospital for at least 24 hours. They’d have constant nursing care;
taking blood pressure and looking for changes in pupil reactions over
24 hours. Now we can immediately identify the problem and treat the
patient so much better because we can see what’s going on.”

“Ultrasound allows us to see organs, a beating heart or
a baby moving. CT scanning allows us to assess most
major injuries and MRI allows us to see the fine detail
of tendons, the brain and the spinal cord. It’s a different
world.”

Recollection of Dr Paul Mountfort, Retired
Senior Surgeon.
The X-ray Department had a main room with the usual
universal x-ray plant was a couch with an over-tube for
doing most x-rays. It could be raised up to the vertical
and had an under-couch tube and a screen for doing
barium studies of stomach and bowel. There was also
a very fine portable Westinghouse which the medical
staff could use when the radiographer was not available.
There was a radiographer but no radiologist so the
doctors had to diagnose based on the patient’s films.

Did You Know?
Tauranga Hospital works hard to care for the greatest
number of patients in the least amount of time. To do
this as efficiently and effectively as possible doctors need
to know exactly what’s wrong with the patient. Doctors
require as much information as possible and today imaging
is considered to be a basic requirement for diagnosis
alongside blood and laboratory tests.

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